Why won't anyone run against Polk County attorney John Sarcone?

Polk County Attorney John Sarcone describes the issues that Scott Greene had with his mother and a friend that preceded him fatally shooting two police officers.

Without a choice, voters don’t get full airing of justice issues

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Polk County Attorney John Sarcone speaks during a press conference at the Polk County Justice Center after Scott Michael Greene switched his plea to guilty on Friday, May 19, 2017, in Des Moines. Greene killed two police officers earlier this year.
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More than 2,500 lawyers are licensed to practice in Polk County. Can’t we find at least one to run against John Sarcone?

Sarcone has served as Polk County attorney for 27 years and is running for his eighth term. The Democrat has never faced opposition since defeating incumbent Jim Smith in 1990.

Let’s be clear: We’re not asking Sarcone to retire or endorsing a vote against him. In fact, Sarcone should be honored for his public service and leadership.

But when voters have no alternatives, how can elected officials be held accountable? How can we have a full debate about how justice is rendered in our county?

No matter how qualified, popular or accomplished a public official, voters should have options. Politicians get better with competition, and so does the quality of our democracy and government.

Sarcone isn’t even the longest-serving county attorney in Iowa. Greene County Attorney Nicola Martino has served for 41 years. Seven others have served 30 years or more, according to a survey by the Iowa County Attorneys Association. Among counties with full-time attorneys, the average current tenure is 11 years.

Thomas Ferguson, executive director of the Iowa County Attorneys Association, said his group doesn’t track how often county attorneys face opposition. His record is similar to Sarcone’s: After winning a contested race for Black Hawk County attorney in 1990, Ferguson was re-elected six times without opposition.

Ferguson said the reasons county attorneys go unopposed vary by the county. “If you’ve done a good job, people are less likely to run against you.” He added that it’s “a difficult job, demanding job. You are subject to a lot of scrutiny, and you should be, for the decisions you make.”

Certainly, it’s tough to find someone who can handle criminal and civil cases, advise and defend county officials, and do a wide range of other tasks required.

Pay can be an issue in attracting private-sector attorneys to run, although that has improved, Ferguson said. The average salary for a full-time county attorney in Iowa is $100,000, according to the association’s 2018 salary survey.

Sarcone will be paid $195,391 this year. He oversees 51 assistant county attorneys and six bureau chiefs in a county of 430,000 people. In comparison, the chief justice of the Iowa Supreme Court is paid $183,001, and everyone in the Iowa attorney general’s office is paid less than $150,000.

Sarcone came into the job with a strong resume, spending four years as a county public defender and 11 years in the environmental law division of the state attorney general's office. In office, he’s served in leadership roles in national and state district attorney groups.

Sarcone has faced hard questions about his practices and policies over the years, in everything from how his office prosecutes bad-check cases to how it handles police-involved fatal shootings. As would be expected, he’s been criticized over why he filed charges in some cases and why he left it up to a grand jury in others. He’s been accused of clogging up the court system and jails by filing multiple charges and for being overzealous in filing petitions for state custody of abused children, vs. seeking mediation to preserve families.

Some of the biggest controversies have involved his handling of juvenile cases. In 2013, state data showed a disparity in the prosecution of African-American youth in Polk County, as well as increases overall in juvenile prosecutions and detentions. Ministers and activists with the group AMOS accused Polk County of abandoning restorative justice and diversion practices. Sarcone has denied that and questioned the accuracy of the data.

Iowa imprisons a larger share of its black residents than almost any other state. Sarcone has rejected the notion that bias in law enforcement or the courts has anything to do with that.

“Guess what? They are committing the crimes,” he told the Register in 2016. “The reality is, there’s a disparity in the number of crimes committed by people of color. What you have to do is address the conduct there.”

That seems like a statement worth more analysis and debate. But Sarcone’s policies and practices have never gotten a full airing in an election campaign, because no one challenges him.

This time should be different. Any potential candidates for the June primary have until March 28 to gather 100 signatures. The voters of Polk County deserve a choice.